This list of selected web site links may help you with your study of
organic chemistry, expand your knowledge, and may be just plain fun to
read.

Each chapter features a "Student Favorite" web site. This site
has been nominated by students as the most useful, most instructive of
just plain most fun site for this chapter. The site with the most
votes for each chapter is listed as the Student Favorite. To
nominate
a site, send
an e-mail to Dr Hardinger, and be sure to include the chapter
number
and the URL of the site that you are nominating. The site you
nominate
may be one currently listed on this page, or can be a site not listed
here.

Some features of these web sites require the presence of various
browser
plug-ins, which may be downloaded for free by clicking on the plug-in
name:

Conformation is now widely recognized as having significant
influence
on
the chemical, physical and biological properties of organic
compounds.
The 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Derek H. R. Barton and
Odd Hassel "for their contributions to the development of the concept
of
conformation and its application in chemistry." http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1969/index.html

Around 1874, Joseph LeBel and Jacobus van’t Hoff independently
proposed
that carbon with four attachments assumes a tetrahedral geometry, and
that
if these four attachments were different, the compound should have two
isomers. Read LeBel’s paper in which he outlines these ideas. http://www.dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/Chem-History/LeBel-1874.html

Acid-base chemistry is fundamental to understanding many aspects
of
organic
reactivity. Tables of pKa values are thus
valuable
to anyone studying organic chemistry. There are many such tables
available, such as this table from the excellent organic chemistry
hypertext
of William Reusch (Michigan State University). http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/OrgPage/acidity2.htm

Carbocations were proposed as intermediates in organic reactions
in the
early part of the 20th century, but their existence was not
definitively
shown until the 1960’s by George Olah (University of Southern
California).
This work was recognized with the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1994/press.html

Transition state define many aspects of chemical reactions, yet
their
extremely
short lifetimes (one femtosecond, the duration of a single bond
vibration)
makes them exceptionally difficult to observe. Ahmed Zewail
(CalTech)
was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "his studies of the
transition
states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy." http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1999/

A typical bromonium ion is reactive and has but a fleeting
existence.
An exception was found in the reaction of the sterically hindered
alkene
adamantylideneadamantane with Br2, providing a bromonium ion
that was isolated and characterized. http://www.pharmacy.purdue.edu/~mcmp204/MOW/week2/MOW.html

Hydroboration is among the most important organic reactions for
both
laboratory
and industrial organic synthesis. The 1979 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry
was shared by Herbert Brown (Purdue University) for "development of the
use of boron....containing compounds into important reagents in organic
synthesis." http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1979/press.html

Carbocations were proposed as intermediates in organic reactions
in the
early part of the 20th century, but their existence was not
definitively
shown until the 1960’s by George Olah (University of Southern
California).
This work was recognized with the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1994/press.html

Halogenated hydrocarbons are common laboratory solvents, with a
variety
of chemical and physical properties. Solvent properties are
critical
in efficient isolation of pure organic compounds from biological
materials.
Read about how dichloromethane helped solve a mystery of aggressive
birds
and poisoned shellfish. http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/domoic.shtml

Elias J. Corey (Harvard), a pioneer in organic synthesis, is
credited
with
the concept of retrosynthesis. He was awarded the 1990 Nobel
Prize
in Chemistry for "his development of the theory and methodology of
organic
synthesis." http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1990/

Organic synthesis is as much art as science, but it need not be
overwhelming.
Approach it logically! To see one person’s thoughts on the
subject,
read "How to Tackle Organic Synthesis: A Beginner's Guide." http://orac.sunderland.ac.uk/~hs0bcl/org1.htm

Technetium is useful for medical imaging, and is present in spent
nuclear
reactor fuel rods and other radioactive waste, but is not present in
any
natural ores. Read about a novel process which employs crown
ethers
for removing technetium from radioactive wastes. http://www.ornl.gov/divisions/casd/csg/highlights/srtalk.html

Valinomycin in a polypeptide ionophore antibiotic that forms a
potassium
cation complex. This complex can then move across a cell
membrane,
killing the bacterium. Visit this web site to see an interactive
model of the valinomycin-potassium complex. http://www.soils.wisc.edu/virtual_museum/valinomycin/

Absorption and reflection of solar infrared radiation is the
cause of
global
warming and the greenhouse effect. The intensity and wavelength
of
infrared energy reflected or absorbed is a function of molecular
structure. http://www.whrc.org/globalwarming/warmingearth.htm

Richard Ernst (ETH, Zurich) was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry
for "his contributions to the development of the methodology of high
resolution
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy." http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1991/

Chemical shifts can be estimated. Here is an example of an
aliphatic
proton chemical shift predictor. It can be used to explore trends
in the relationship between functional groups and chemical shifts. http://www.colby.edu/chemistry/NMR/H1pred.html

NMR theory can be complex, but out of that complexity rises a
host of
useful
NMR techniques. Explore a more detailed theoretical explanation
of
NMR at this web site. http://www.cis.rit.edu/htbooks/nmr/

Logical thinking, persistence and practice are the keys to
solving
spectral
problems. Here are some comments on problem solving strategy, as
well as some IR and NMR spectral problems for more practice. http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~webspectra/

Mass spectrometry is among the oldest instrumental methods in
chemistry.
Its use lead to several major discoveries, such as the existence of
isotopes.
Read more about the history of mass spectrometry. http://masspec.scripps.edu/hist.html

The Monsanto acetic acid process is an excellent example of
transition
metal catalysis on an industrial scale. Read more about this
reaction
in the Organometallic HyperTextBook. http://www.ilpi.com/organomet/monsanto.html

Sir William Henry Perkins is considered the father of the modern
dye
industry
due to an accidental discovery while trying to synthesize the
antimalaria
drug quinine. He also developed the Perkin reaction, a useful
route
to b-aryl-a,b-unsaturated
carboxylic acids. http://www.chemheritage.org/perkin/Perkin/perkin.html

Conjugate addition of a radical to an a,b-unsaturated
ester is the key mechanism step in the polymerization of methyl
methacrylate
to form poly(methyl methacrylate), also known as Plexiglas or Lucite. http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/pmma.htm

The study of molecular orbitals is critical to modern organic
chemistry.
Orbital considerations often provide a more rigorous explanation than
simpler
concepts. Consult this web site for a more detailed introduction
to molecular orbital theory. http://origin.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/course/mo_theory/

Aromatic nitration provides 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT).
Packing
many nitro groups into a small space increases explosive power.
Octanitrocubane
has recently been synthesized, and studies show this molecule has
explosive
potential. http://www.sciencenews.org/20000122/fob6.asp

Hermann Müller discovered the insecticidal activity of DDT,
and
was
awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "his
discovery
of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several
arthropods."
DDT proved to be a toxic to birds, and was banned less than 40 years
after
Müller's Nobel Prize was awarded. http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1948/press.html